Commercial Pilot -In order to get paid to fly you must hold a commercial pilot certificate. The standards for the Commercial Pilot Certificate are tighter than the Private Pilot Certificate, and your knowledge of systems, performance, etc.. needs to be a bit more in depth.

The requirements are (*partial listing - see 61.129(a) for all requirements):

1. 250 hours total time
2. 100 hours PIC
3. 50 hours cross-country
4. At least 10 hours instrument training
5. 10 hours of training in a complex airplane

Once you meet these requirements* (or are pretty close to them) you're ready to start flight training. Besides having to know advanced aerodynamics, systems, and aircraft performance (just to name a few), you'll be learning some new maneuvers such as: chandelles, lazy-eights, eights on pylon, 180° power-off approach, and steep spirals. These maneuvers are a lot of fun and they also sharpen your skills, making you a better, and smoother, pilot.

Since there is not a predetermined minimum number of hours to go by, estimating cost is tough. I'm going to use 15 hours of instruction in a complex airplane and 10 hours of solo as a start.

This is only a very rough estimate, however from my experience it should be in the ballpark. Again, just like the private and instrument, cost is dependent on how often you fly.

If you would like any additional information please send me an e-mail and I'll respond asap.

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